shibori

Remember summer afternoons spent with a Hanes T-shirt, a pack of rubber bands, and some buckets filled with Rit dye? You'd tie a couple of random knots, dunk the shirt in a bucket, and voila: Your very own tie-dyed T-shirt. Think of shibori—an ancient form of wrapping, binding, and hand-dyeing fabric—as tie-dye for grown-ups. Big-deal designers like Stella McCartney, Band of Outsiders, and Michael Kors have recently sent shibori-inspired patterns down their catwalks, and high-street stores like Madewell, Anthropologie, and Free People are all offering up intricately patterned, indigo hued pieces too. Shibori is definitely having a moment. "Shibori gives fabric a vibrant liveliness that other prints can't offer," explains Kalen Kaminski, who along with pal Astrid Chastka, founded shibori-based clothing label Upstate four years ago. "There are always inconsistencies with shibori that must be embraced." With that in mind, I asked Kaminski and Chastka to walk me through my very own shibori DIY. What we used: —silk caftan (use any white cotton or silk item you like, but be sure to choose 100 percent natural fibers as those absorb dyes best) —bendable tube (or any cylindrical item—a branch, wood dowel—you don't mind getting dye on) —string (rubber bands read more